Rationality And Relativism

Author : Martin Hollis,Steven Lukes
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1982-11-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262580618

Get Book

Rationality and Relativism by Martin Hollis,Steven Lukes Pdf

Are there absolute truths that can be gradually approached over time through rational processes? Or are all modes and systems of thought equally valid if viewed from within their own internally consistent frames of reference? Are there universal forms of reasoning and understanding that enable us to distinguish between rational beliefs and those that are demonstrably false, or is everything relative? These central questions are addressed and debated by the distinguished contributors to this lively book. Some of them—Hollis, Lukes, Robin Horton, and Ernest Gellner—discuss new directions in their thinking since their earlier articles appeared in 1970 in the seminal volume Rationality (edited by Bryan Wilson). They are now joined in the debate by Ian Hacking, W. Newton-Smith, Charles Taylor, Jon Elster, Dan Sperber, and, in the jointly authored lead article, by Barry Barnes and David Bloor. Emerging from the debate are a variety of supportable interpretations and conclusions rather than a single, distinct "truth." The contributors represent the complete spectrum of positions between a relativism that challenges the very concept of a single world and the idea that there are ascertainable, objective universals.

Author : I.C. Jarvie
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2015-07-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317401186

Get Book

Rationality and Relativism by I.C. Jarvie Pdf

Anthropology revolves round answers to problems about the nature, development and unity of mankind; problems that are both philosophical and scientific. In this book, first published in 1984, Professor Jarvie applies Popper’s philosophy of science to understanding the history and theory of anthropology. Jarvie describes how the ancient view that the aim of science and philosophy was to get at the truth is challenged in anthropology by the doctrine of cultural relativism; that is, that truth varies with the cultural framework. He shows how philosophers as various as Peter Winch, W.V.O. Quine, W.T. Jones, Nelson Goodman and Richard Rorty were influenced by this doctrine. Yet these philosophers also accept the value of rational argument. Jarvie believes that there is a contradiction between relativism and any notion of human rationality that centres around argument. Forced by the contradiction to choose between rationality and relativism, he argues strongly that logical, scientific and moral considerations favour rationality and urge repudiation of relativism. The central argument of the book is that relativism is intellectually disastrous and has fostered intellectual attitudes from which anthropology still suffers.

Author : Howard Sankey
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2018-12-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780429776113

Get Book

Rationality, Relativism and Incommensurability by Howard Sankey Pdf

First published in 1997, this volume brings together a series of essays on the philosophy of science and responds to the "crisis of rationality" which evolved from the denial of both a stable methodology and a common language for science. Howard Sankey holds that important insights about scientific methodology and rationality may be gleaned from the historical approach, from which the existence of profound conceptual change in science, as well as the absence of a neutral observation language, are important findings. Half of Sankey’s essays concentrate specifically on the thesis that alternative scientific theories are incommensurable due to semantic differences between the vocabulary in which they are expressed. Several others seek to derive a new way of thinking about scientific rationality from the historical critique of the idea of a fixed scientific method. Still others demonstrate how some seemingly relativistic themes of the historical approach may be embraced in a non-relativistic manner within the context of a pluralistic and naturalistic theory of scientific methodology and rationality.

Author : Joseph Margolis,A.S. Krausz,R. Burian
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 245 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400943629

Get Book

Rationality, Relativism and the Human Sciences by Joseph Margolis,A.S. Krausz,R. Burian Pdf

The Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium was launched in the early eighties. It began during a particularly lean period in the American economy. But its success is linked as much to the need to be in touch with the rapidly changing currents of the philosophical climate as with the need to insure an adequately stocked professional community in the Philadelphia area faced, perhaps permanently, with the threat of increasing attrition. The member schools of the Consortium now include Bryn Mawr College, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Villanova University, that is, the schools of the area that offer advanced degrees in philosophy. The philosophy faculties of these schools form the core of the Consortium, which offers graduate students the instructional and library facilities of each member school. The Consortium is also supported by the associated faculties of other regional schools that do not offer advanced degrees - notably, those at Drexel University, Haverford College, La Salle University, and Swarthmore College - both philosophers and members of other departments as well as interested and professionally qualified persons from the entire region. The affiliated and core professionals now number several hundreds, and the Consortium's various ventures have been received most enthusiastically by the academic community. At this moment, the Consortium is planning its fifth year of what it calls the Conferences on the Philosophy of the Human Studies.

Author : Nenad Miscevic
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2000-12-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781442658936

Get Book

Rationality and Cognition by Nenad Miscevic Pdf

Cognitive science has posed some radical challenges to philosophy in recent years, particularly in the study of the cognitive activities and capacities of individuals. Many philosophers have taken up the challenge, and one result has been the emergence of a radical new wave of relativism, one that assaults the credibility of rationalist views. In this book Nenad Mis̆c̆ević defends naturalistic rationalism against these recent relativist attacks. The book begins with an excellent introduction to cognitive science, and goes on to create a searching defence of human rationality and of a traditional role for truth in epistemology. Mis̆c̆ević presents a critical scrutiny of the relativism championed by Stephen Stich and Paul Churchland and their followers, showing that it not only exaggerates the subversive impact of science, but relies on its links with naturalism for much of its crediblity. His careful dissection of relativist arguments establishes the main outlines of a positive rationalistic picture that is both original and convincing.

Author : Nenad Miščević
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Cognition
ISBN : 0802080286

Get Book

Rationality and Cognition by Nenad Miščević Pdf

Cognitive science has posed some radical challenges to philosophy in recent years, particularly in the study of the cognitive activities and capacities of individuals. One result has been the emergence of a radical new wave of relativism. In this book, Miscevic defends naturalistic rationalism against these relativist attacks.

Author : Maria Baghramian,Annalisa Coliva
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2019-09-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781000691108

Get Book

Relativism by Maria Baghramian,Annalisa Coliva Pdf

Relativism, an ancient philosophical doctrine, is once again a topic of heated debate. In this book, Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva present the recent arguments for and against various forms of relativism. The first two chapters introduce the conceptual and historical contours of relativism. These are followed by critical investigations of relativism about truth, conceptual relativism, epistemic relativism, and moral relativism. The concluding chapter asks whether it is possible to make sense of relativism as a philosophical thesis. The book introduces readers to the main types of relativism and the arguments in their favor. It also goes beyond the expository material to engage in more detailed critical responses to the key positions and authors under discussion. Including chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary, Relativism is essential reading for students of philosophy as well as those in related disciplines where relativism is studied, such as anthropology, sociology, and politics.

Author : Paul O'Grady
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2014-12-18
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317489832

Get Book

Relativism by Paul O'Grady Pdf

The issue of relativism looms large in many contemporary discussions of knowledge, reality, society, religion, culture and gender. Is truth relative? To what extent is knowledge dependent on context? Are there different logics? Do different cultures and societies see the world differently? And is reality itself something that is constructed? This book offers a path through these debates. O'Grady begins by clarifying what exactly relativism is and how it differs from scepticism and pluralism. He then examines five main types of cognitive relativism: alethic relativism, logical relativism, ontological relativism; epistemological relativism, and relativism about rationality. Each is clearly distinguised and the arguments for and against each are assessed. O'Grady offers a welcome survey of recent debates, engaging with the work of Davidson, Devitt, Kuhn, Putnam, Quine, Rorty, Searle, Winch and Wittgenstein, among others, and he offers a distinct position of his own on this hotly contested issue.

Author : Maria Baghramian
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 299 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2015-10-14
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317701651

Get Book

The Many Faces of Relativism by Maria Baghramian Pdf

This book is a study of relativism as a dominant intellectual preoccupation of our time. Relativism asks how we are to find a way out of intractable differences of perspectives and disagreements in various domains. Standards of truth, rationality, and ethical right and wrong vary greatly and there are no universal criteria for adjudicating between them. In considering this problem, relativism suggests that what is true or right can only be determined within variable contexts of assessment. This book brings together articles published in the International Journal of Philosophical Studies over a period of 17 years, as well as in a Special Issue of the journal published in 2004. The chapters in Section I discuss some of the main forms of relativism. Section II sheds light on the different motivations for relativism, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Section III provides a detailed examination of the vexed question of whether Ludwig Wittgenstein, in his later work, supported relativism. The varied responses to this important question shed light on the issues discussed in Sections I and II. This collection is a lively and engaging resource for scholars interested in the crucial impact relativism has had on the way we think about the meaning of truth, and what is right and wrong. The chapters in this book were originally published in the International Journal of Philosophical Studies.

Author : A. Coliva
Publisher : Springer
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2015-04-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781137501899

Get Book

Extended Rationality by A. Coliva Pdf

Extended Rationality provides a novel account of the structure of epistemic justification. Its central claim builds upon Wittgenstein's idea that epistemic justifications hinge on some basic assumptions and that epistemic rationality extends to these very hinges. It exploits these ideas to address problems such as scepticism and relativism.

Author : Robert L. Arrington
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2019-05-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781501745409

Get Book

Rationalism, Realism, and Relativism by Robert L. Arrington Pdf

During the 1970s and 1980s, the field of ethics underwent a profound change in perspective from noncognitivism to cognitivism regarding moral judgments and reasoning. Although metaethical noncognitivism had been the predominant point of view during the previous three decades, a series of attacks had undermined its authority by the 1970s, and it gave way to the cognitivist belief that moral judgments have truth values. This book provides a descriptive and critical guide to the often bewildering scene that resulted from these controversies in contemporary moral epistemology.

Author : Michael Krausz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 596 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : IND:30000127454308

Get Book

Relativism by Michael Krausz Pdf

This anthology captures the significance and range of relativistic doctrines, rehearsing their virtues and vices and reflecting on a spectrum of attitudes. Invoking diverse philosophical orientations, these doctrines concern conceptions of relativism in relation to facts and conceptual schemes, realism and objectivity, universalism and foundationalism, solidarity and rationality, pluralism and moral relativism, and feminism and poststructuralism.

Author : Cynthia Lins Hamlin
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2004-01-14
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781134575923

Get Book

Beyond Relativism by Cynthia Lins Hamlin Pdf

This book argues that critical realism offers the theory of cognitive rationality a real way of overcoming the limitations of methodological individualism by recognising both the agents' - and the social structure's - causal powers and liabilities. Cynthia Lins Hamlin persuasively argues that critical realism represents a better safeguard against the relativism which springs from the conflation of social reality and our ideas about it. This is an important book for sociologists and anyone working in the social sciences, and for all those concerned with the methodology, and philosophy, of social science.

Author : H. Siegel
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2013-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401577465

Get Book

Relativism Refuted by H. Siegel Pdf

Author : Steven D. Hales
Publisher : Bradford Book
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Methodology
ISBN : 0262513307

Get Book

Relativism and the Foundations of Philosophy by Steven D. Hales Pdf

A defense of the view that philosophical propositions are true in some perspectives and false in others, arguing that the rationalist, intuition-driven method of acquiring basic beliefs favored by analytic philosophy is not epistemically superior to such alternate belief-acquiring methods as religious revelation and the ritual use of hallucinogens. The grand and sweeping claims of many relativists might seem to amount to the argument that everything is relative--except the thesis of relativism. In this book, Steven Hales defends relativism, but in a more circumscribed form that applies specifically to philosophical propositions. His claim is that philosophical propositions are relatively true--true in some perspectives and false in others. Hales defends this argument first by examining rational intuition as the method by which philosophers come to have the beliefs they do. Analytic rationalism, he claims, has a foundational reliance on rational intuition as a method of acquiring basic beliefs. He then argues that there are other methods that people use to gain beliefs about philosophical topics that are strikingly analogous to rational intuition and examines two of these: Christian revelation and the ritual use of hallucinogens. Hales argues that rational intuition is not epistemically superior to either of these alternative methods. There are only three possible outcomes: we have no philosophical knowledge (skepticism); there are no philosophical propositions (naturalism); or there are knowable philosophical propositions, but our knowledge of them is relative to doxastic perspective. Hales defends relativism against the charge that it is self-refuting and answers a variety of objections to this account of relativism. Finally, he examines the most sweeping objection to relativism: that philosophical propositions are not merely relatively true, because there are no philosophical propositions--all propositions are ultimately empirical, as the naturalists contend. Hales's somewhat disturbing conclusion--that intuition-driven philosophy does produce knowledge, but not absolute knowledge--is sure to inspire debate among philosophers.